An Atlanta, Georgia man has pleaded guilty in to a counterfeit check scheme that netted him and a coconspirator nearly $70,000, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maine announced Thursday.
In court records, federal prosecutors alleged that in March 2022, 33-year-old Rasheed Colbert, and a coconspirator, Mantavious Jones, 32, both of Atlanta, stole checks from the mailboxes of local businesses in Maine and then used the stolen checks to create counterfeit checks.
The pair were accused of recruiting homeless people to provide identification in order to cash the counterfeit checks in exchange for money.
The two Georgia men provided work-style clothing to the homeless individuals and drove them to bank branches to cash the checks, prosecutors alleged.
Colbert and Jones netted just under $70,000 from the scheme in total.
On the charge of conspiring to commit bank fraud, Colbert faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.
His coconspirator, Mantavious Jones, is currently serving 16 months in prison for his role in the scheme.
The case was investigated by the Justice Department’s New England Cyber Fraud Task Force and Kennebunk Police Department, with assistance from Saco and Scarborough police.
How will Maine stay relevant without Rasheed and Mantavious contributing to its ever more diverse society?